Ofcom: disabled people "substantially underrepresented" at broadcasters

Disabled people remain “substantially underrepresented” at all job levels of broadcasters, accounting for one in ten of TV employees, Ofcom has revealed.

In its latest Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in TV and radio report, the regulator found that just 8% of senior managers identify as disabled, compared to a national working benchmark of 16%.  

Channel 4 is close to hitting that benchmark, with 15% of staff identifying as disabled. At ITV and Channel 5 owner Paramount, the figure is 12%, followed by the BBC (10%) and Sky (8%).

In terms of ethnic diversity, Ofcom found that Paramount far exceeded the 14% benchmark with 24%, as did C4 and Sky, which both reporting 21% of staff are from minority ethnic backgrounds. ITV and the BBC lag behind on 16% each. Overall, broadcasters were below the 14% working population average for people from ethnically diverse backgrounds in senior position.

This year, Ofcom detailed the geographic spread for the first time, finding that, overall, 44% of the TV workforce (and 54% in radio) are based outside of London.

The BBC is ahead of the pack with 54%, followed by Sky (51%) and ITV (46%). C4 is some way behind with 26%, while 0% of Paramount’s workers based outside of London.

C4 employs the highest proportion of women, who make up 59% of the workforce and occupy 52% of senior leadership roles. ITV’s staff skews 55% female, followed by Paramount (51%) and Sky and the BBC (both 46%).   

All broadcasters studied were at or above the 68% benchmark for staff under 50, with C4 leading the way with 86%.

Between April 2022 and March 2023, 5,577 people left the TV industry against the 6,371 who joined in the same period, the regulator reported. 

Ofcom’s report spans 36,270 UK-based employees across 47 broadcasters.